A decision on the legal right of the poor to get wheat or rice at Rs 3 per kg was deferred on Thursday as Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar could not attend the meeting of a panel of ministers on the Food Security Bill on health grounds.
At present, zero coupon bonds which are issued at a discount to the face value and where interest is in-built, are allowed to be issued only by infrastructure companies or public sector organisations.
The finance ministry, in the explanatory memorandum to the Finance Bill 2008-09, proposes to withdraw the tax holiday which has been a window the petroleum ministry has been using to market the oil and gas exploration blocks under the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (Nelp) since 1999. The commitment to give a 7-year tax holiday to companies producing gas from Nelp blocks was finalised by the Union Cabinet after consultation with the finance ministry.
RBI, however, does not want banks to get into it, as it is speculative.
Due to Opposition anger over the non-availability of the finance minister during discussion on the Finance Bill in the Parliament.
The Parliament on Wednesday approved a watered down version of the fiscal responsibility bill aimed at disciplining state finances that left out clauses binding the government to tough fiscal deficit targets.
The interest rate charged on your credit card makes your ownership a nightmare if you don't know it in perfect detail. Here's a primer for you
The Bill seeks to create a welfare fund for farmers at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led from the front a campaign to woo farmers and downtrodden sections of the society.
The finance minister said the government was open to suggestions.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday rejected Bharatiya Janata Party's charge that the Congress was taking a 'U-turn' on the Insurance Bill, saying that there are "no double standards" on the issue.
The speaker said he would take a decision on the remaining 14 cases in a "couple of days."
There will be a lot to repair and rejuvenate -- if that opportunity even presents itself, warns Rathin Roy.
The new 10 per cent dividend tax will be payable only on dividend income over and above Rs 10 lakh threshold in a year, according to an amendment to the Finance Bill 2016 approved by Lok Sabha.
7 key areas that the Budget must address to re-energise the infrastructure sector, suggests Vinayak Chatterjee.
A Bill seeking to give more operational flexibility to the Reserve Bank of India in the conduct of monetary policy was passed in Lok Sabha on Friday.
Government introduced two Bills in Lok Sabha on Friday -- one seeking to phase out central sales tax in four stages and eventually abolish it in three years and another to give more operational flexibility to the Reserve Bank of India.
Will the so-called Third Front partners be able to retain their ambitious unity till the end of this month, when the Finance Bill comes for voting in the Lok Sabha? Doubts are hovering around the Yadav duo Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi chief Mulayam Singh Yadav -- as the two have taken different stands in the past one week on the issue.
The first meeting of the newly-constituted joint committee comprising ministers and civil society activists to draft the Lokpal Bill will be held on Saturday.
The finance minister said the consensus between the Centre and states is required to amendment the constitution for implementing goods and services tax.
The Union Cabinet Thursday approved the Contempt of Courts Amendment Bill, 2004, which seeks to liberalise the law by introducing "truth" as a defence in contempt proceedings.
Debit card payments remained sluggish due to the surge in digital transactions after the pandemic, and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has emerged as the most popular mode of money transfer, particularly for small value transactions, according to RBI data. In July 2020, the total debit card spends stood at Rs 2.81 trillion, as compared to Rs 3.15 trillion in July 2023, reflecting a growth of 11.96 per cent. UPI spends have seen a whopping growth of 428 per cent, zooming from Rs 2.90 trillion to Rs 15.33 trillion during the same period, the data revealed.
The draft Companies Bill 2008 has identified the three key managerial positions as chief executive officer, chief finance officer and company secretary. By recognising these three key managerial positions, the Bill is fixing responsibility to bring out a system which is more accountable, transparent and workable, according to an official at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday announced a slew of concessions, including a 1 per cent interest subsidy for lower and middle income housing loans, and exempted road repair and maintenance services from the ambit of service tax.
The government banks on the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party to push the Insurance and LIC Bills in the next Parliament session, but it seems to have adopted different tactics on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill.
The Congress has reasons to enjoy the BJP's discomfiture. After all, the Insurance Bill was introduced by the UPA government in 2008 but was constantly blocked by the BJP on some pretext or the other which was then in the Opposition.
Former Union law minister and civil activist Shanti Bhushan has urged the government to hold an open debate on the Lokpal Bill so that the people of India get to know the stance taken by the various members of the drafting committee.Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, chairman of the Lokpal Bill Drafting committee, is yet to respond to Bhushan's demand.Bhushan, who is one of the five representatives of the civil society on the panel, said the government was backtracking.
"We are willing to speak to any of their leaders," Jaitley was quoted as saying by Bloomberg News.
Government strategists are trying to ensure that the requisite 16 of the 31 states ratify the Bill by the end of this month
The current session of Parliament may be extended to enable the passage of bills, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu told Bharatiya Janata Party MPs in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The National Democratic Alliance government is keen on the passage of the Insurance Bill before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US to send out a message that economic reforms are back on track in India. Anita Katyal reports
Government's effort to end impasse in Parliament by reaching out to BJP for early passage of key finance bills on Friday came a cropper as the opposition indicated that it is unlikely to cooperate unless it is assured that JPC chairman P C Chacko's draft report on 2G will be rejected.
'He has divine power... For our future, safety is in the hands of Modi.'
Following is the text of the Gazette Notification issued by the government constituting the Joint Drafting Committee comprising ministers and civil society activists to prepare the draft Lok Pal Bill.
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled up the government for a total policy failure, resulting in grave economic crisis.
Social Justice Minister Thaavarchand Gehlot sought to allay doubts raised by several opposition members about the legislation's fate if challenged in the Supreme Court, saying he can say with confidence that the apex court will accept it.
An all party meeting to seek views across the political spectrum on the issue of inclusion of the prime minister under the Lokpal Bill is likely to be held in the first week of next month.
Buyer to pay tax on gains made on undervalued property purchase.
The ministry was expecting savings this year to be around Rs 20,000 crore.
The uncertainty over the implementation of the new tax continues as the Finance Bill has not been passed by the Parliament. Finance minister P Chidambaram had announced in his Budget proposal that the levy would come into effect from April 1. The uncertainty over the implementation of the new tax continues as the Finance Bill has not been passed by the Parliament. P Chidambaram had announced in his Budget proposal that the levy would come into effect from April 1.
The Bill could be referred to the Parliamentary Committee for scrutiny
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